Opening times: Monday-Friday, 9.00am-5.15pm
We offer a free initial meeting for all new clients
At Frettens, we recognise how important it is for you get to know your solicitor and obtain advice about how your case could progress before committing time and money. That’s why we offer a free initial meeting for all new clients to discuss your matter and the likely outcome.
At present, most appointments will take place over the phone or by video link. Where a face-to-face meeting is necessary, we have put the required safety measures in place.
Call us on 01425 501407 or fill in your details below, and one of our friendly team will be in touch to arrange your free meeting.
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Our services for you
We offer a full range of services for businesses and individuals. Whether you are completing a complex management buy out or writing your will, our team of experts are here for you. See our full list of services below.
Buying or selling a home is one of the most exciting but daunting processes you will ever undergo.
Our firm has been accredited by the Law Society with the Conveyancing Quality Scheme, in recognition of our position as one of the leading firms in the country to offer property and conveyancing services.
Our expertise includes:
- Buying a home
- Selling a home
- Remortgaging
- Equity release
- Buying new build property
- Government schemes, including Help to Buy and Shared Ownerships
- Lease extensions, enfranchisement and Right to Manage
- Equity transfer
When a couple decides to divorce, there are many important decisions to make about children, the division and arrangement of the family finances, and how any ongoing financial maintenance will work.
We understand how frustrating going through a divorce or civil partnership dissolution can be and that you’re probably worried about how your arrangements will affect your children.
Our skilled and sensitive family law solicitors in Ringwood specialise in helping clients come to divorce settlements whilst avoiding any unnecessary stress or conflict. With our assistance, it’s highly unlikely you’ll have to go to court as we are experienced in helping clients access Alternative Dispute Resolution which are cheaper and less-combative methods of settling disputes.
Our expertise includes:
- Divorce, civil partnership dissolution, and separation
- Cohabitee disputes
- Arrangements for children
- Financial settlements
- Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
- Alternative Dispute Resolution, including collaborative law
We understand that issues with employers can make you feel incredibly vulnerable, whether your dispute involves dismissal, redundancy, discrimination, bullying, or pay.
Employment law is complicated and confusing; you may not be fully aware of your legal rights, but you do know that what has happened isn’t right. That’s where we can help. We have extensive experience supporting and guiding employees through employment disputes and our expertise includes:
- Disciplinary procedures and grievances
- Contractual disputes
- Settlement agreements (also known as compromise agreements)
- Advice on redundancy
- Unfair dismissal
- Constructive dismissal
- Acas Early Conciliation and codes of practice
- Employment Tribunal disputes
Being faced with a legal dispute is a daunting prospect for any individual. Whether you’re involved in a neighbour dispute, a disagreement with your landlord, or you have an issue regarding the estate of someone who has died, we’ll explain the law in simple, uncomplicated English and do all the legal legwork on your behalf, including drafting letters of demand and court claims.
Our expertise also includes consumer complaints and disputes, contractual disputes, and professional negligence claims.
When you’re dealing with the passing of a loved one, it’s easy to get into disagreements about the life they left behind. Whether you’ve been left out of a Will, you suspect your loved one made their Will while they were under undue influence, or you disagree with how the Executors are handling the estate, we can help.
We’re one of the few law firms in the region with specialist expertise in handling complex Will disputes, and have a wide range of experience, including bringing and defending Will claims and making claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
We are one of the few law firms in the region to have a specialist Lease Extension and Enfranchisement Team.
If you own a leasehold property, it is usually a good idea to extend the lease before it falls below 80 years. All leaseholders become entitled to extend their lease once they’ve owned their home for 2 years. We can assist with negotiations with the freeholder and will handle all the legal documentation on your behalf.
We also advise on lease enfranchisement; this is when a group of leaseholders under the same freeholder join together to buy the freehold of the building.
Making a Will allows you to leave your money, property, and personal possessions to whomever you like. Additionally, assuming your Will is validly executed, it’s very difficult for anyone to challenge it, giving you peace of mind that your wishes will continue to be respected after you die.
We provide expert Will drafting and review services, including outlining your options for minimising Inheritance Tax liability.
We also provide advice to the Executors and Administrators of the estates of deceased people, handling every aspect of estate administration process on their behalf, including valuing the estate, calculating and paying Inheritance Tax, and distributing inheritance to the Beneficiaries as outlined in the Will or under the Rules of Intestacy (if there is no Will).
Inheritance Tax is no longer something only wealthy people need to worry about. With property prices continuing to rise, more and more people are accumulating estates worth more than £325,000, the current tax-free threshold for Inheritance Tax.
Most people put off planning their Wills until they’re older; however, given the unpredictability of life, we cannot stress enough the importance of creating a tax-efficient estate plan to ensure your loved ones can receive as much of your money and property as possible after you pass away.
We provide detailed estate planning advice for people looking to minimise their Inheritance Tax liability, including utilising the legal rules on gifting, trusts, and tax reliefs.
If you’re over 55 and your house is worth at least £70,000, you may be eligible for equity release to free up some of the money in your home for things like living costs, gifts to loved ones, and care fees.
We have a wealth of experience advising in relation to both lifetime mortgages and home reversions. We can also help you with:
- Wills
- Inheritance Tax planning
- Trusts
- Long term care planning
Our services for your business
We provide bespoke contract drafting and review services as well as offering advice and representation to both businesses and individuals involved in contractual disputes.
Our expertise includes:
- Shareholder agreements
- Business partnership agreements
- Agency agreements
- Mergers, acquisitions and disposals
- Sponsorship and endorsement agreements
- Guarantees
- Joint venture agreements
- Sales of goods and services
We can offer you specialist advice in relation to all aspects of buying and selling businesses, including:
- Forming a company
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Disposals
- Share buy-backs
- Joint ventures
- Family company succession
- Management buy-outs
- Acquisitions from administrators and liquidators
We’ll carefully tailor our approach according to your commercial goals and business strategy.
Our commercial solicitors in Ringwood advise owners, tenants, investors, and developers in relation to all matters of commercial property, including:
- Buying, selling, and letting commercial property
- Corporate property finance
- Property disputes and litigation
- Development and plot sales
- Landlord & tenant matters and disputes
- Leasehold advice
- Lease extensions
- Property development
- Sale and leaseback
If you’re owed money by an individual or business which cannot or refuses to pay you back, our litigation solicitors can conduct debt recovery proceedings on your behalf. We understand that issues of cash flow are a common cause of debts and arrears; our aim is to preserve your business relationships wherever possible by engaging in cooperative negotiations with debtors.
However, where the debtor is reluctant to engage in discussions or accepts they cannot or will not repay you, we also have experience in:
- Money claims
- Statutory Demands
- Bankruptcy proceedings
- Engaging in Individual Voluntary Arrangements or Company Voluntary Arrangements as a creditor
- Proving in your debt with the insolvency practitioner or Official Receiver of an individual or business which is bankrupt or insolvent
When business disputes arise, it can sometimes be challenging to direct time and resources to resolving the matter without affecting the day-to-day running of the business.
We have wide-ranging experience representing clients in all types of business dispute. Our aim is to help you resolve the issue with minimal financial and reputational impact to your business. We’ll help you settle the matter out of court wherever possible, using our negotiation skills to achieve the most favourable outcome feasible in the circumstances.
As an employer, you have essential duties towards your employees, however small your business is.
However, we know how difficult it can be to keep up the ever-changing area of employment law. We can provide clear, understandable advice in relation to your responsibilities as an employer to help you avoid employment law disputes wherever possible.
We’ll tailor our approach carefully to coincide with your business strategy so you can make informed decisions which further your commercial goals whilst complying with the law. Our expertise includes:
- Disciplinaries and grievances
- Contractual matters and disputes
- Settlement agreements (or compromise agreements)
- Redundancy
- Unfair dismissal and constructive dismissal claims
- Discrimination claims
- Harassments and bullying claims
- The employment aspects of acquisitions and disposals
We’re employment law specialists so we know just how challenging it is to stay on top of your responsibilities as an employer.
That’s why we’ve developed bespoke HR training courses for employers looking to improve their policies and procedures and gain further insight on the effect of employment law on the running of their business.
We can tailor our courses to suit your individual needs but some examples include:
- Disciplinary and grievance procedures
- Discrimination and harassment issues
- Performance management
- Hiring and firing
- New legislation, such as the Bribery Act
- Absence management – long and short term sickness
Whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned property investment professional, we provide advice to landlords on all matters and disputes which arise in the course of renting out buy to let property.
Our expertise includes:
- Drafting and reviewing tenancy agreements
- Rent deposits
- Arrears and possession proceedings
- Evictions and Section 21 and Section 8 notices
- Advice on maintenance and other landlord responsibilities
Local courts near Ringwood
Bournemouth and Poole County Court and Family Court
Bournemouth and Poole County Court and Family Court is based near the centre of Bournemouth hears cases relating to:
- Adoption
- Bankruptcy
- Children
- Divorce
- Domestic violence
- Housing possession
- Money claims
Southampton Combined Court Centre
This court in Southampton city centre hears mainly civil cases relating to:
- Bankruptcy
- Children
- Domestic violence
- Employment
- Housing possession
- Money claims
- Social security
Salisbury Law Courts
This court hears mainly civil cases relating to:
- Bankruptcy
- Divorce
- Housing possession
- Money claims
- Social security
Winchester District Probate Registry
The Winchester District Probate Registry takes applications for Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration from anywhere in the country, particularly from the surrounding Hampshire area, including Bournemouth, Southampton, Portsmouth, and Basingstoke.
